Paint presented in a flat container at the point of sale has the advantages that it is immediately ready for use by pad or roller applicator. However, if popular forms of paint are handled in this way problems arise, depending on the nature of the paint, such as: the paint can easily be spilt; a roller applied to the paint would enter it too deeply; a large surface area is exposed which would create a large film when stored after partial use; limitations are imposed on storage and transport which would have to be more strictly observed than in the case of common cylindrical can with a lifting handle. In one way of meeting these problems, the paint can be specially formulated so that it is highly structured (nominally solid) but responds to shear at its surface to create a liquid phase of shallow depth which does not readily relax back into a solid state (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,693). With such compositions it is necessary to control the rheology and gel structure very closely since these factors have a major influence on how easily the paint is transferred to a roller. Additionally, if the structure of the paint changes, such as surface cracks appear, then there is a tendency for a roller to pick up clumps of paint which can fly off the roller during application.
The object of the present invention is to provide paint, or rheologically similar material such as adhesives, in a flat container which can be swept with a roller applicator without necessarily resorting to nominally solid formulations whilst reducing or avoiding the problems stated above.